Blog Post

What I hate—indeed, what I have always hated—about this level of play is how players get stripped of their humanity and become subject to whatever assume, from the outside, with no true knowledge or understanding of the player’s plight.

Today, while getting my notes together for Baseball Central, I listened to a caller on the Jeff Blair Show talk about how Ricky gave the appearance of not having a fire in his belly, like, say, Maddux or Halladay. This, said the caller, what how you knew Ricky was not going to recover.

Those personalities couldn’t be less comparable. Maddux was a fighter, to be sure, but he also screwed around more than most pitchers I’d ever known. He was the quintessential dirt ball, peeing on people in the shower and wiping his ass with towels and discarding them in to rookies lockers. (read my second book for more on that).

Halladay, on the other hand, was boarder line obsessive compulsive. A true workaholic that marched around the locker room like the Terminator. He was scary, to be honest. Frighteningly committed in a way that you respected, but, at the same time, wondered if he even enjoyed himself with the amount of work he put it. Was it pleasure, or was it obsession? (read my third book for more on that).

Ricky is dealing with his own struggles and issues, and he is dealing with them with his own set of unique variables specific to his make up. There is no archetype of success, mentally or physically. Why? Because players are not static physical mechanisms you can compare. They are people, and they handle stressors differently. Some clamp down on the issues like a dog and refuse to let them go. Some have to fuck around near constantly to distract themselves from the issue at hand. And some get stuck in the middle, in the swirling mess of internal expectation, external expectation, result, failure, identity, and the simple concept of being able to enjoy life.

I’ve been in Ricky’s shoes. I know what it’s like when your body abandons you, your mind betrays you, and your confidence lies in shambles. I’ve been called to the hill in fear of the result, hoping I will get lucky and do my job just so I can feel good about myself for a change. I know what it’s like to be loved by a fan base, then hated by it when you fail, as if someone has rewritten history to turn you from hero to villain.

I don’t protect players when they don’t do their job. Though I’m a former player, I try to be unbiased. Ricky didn’t do his job, that is obvious, and something will have to be done because of the results he has generated can’t continue. But, to assume that he’s not trying to fix what plagues him this year is foolish. To think that, from a vantage point so far removed as the bleachers, you can see what is truly happening underneath his jersey is a joke.

JP Arencibia came out of last night’s game with an injury to his hand, but Ricky came out with an injury to his mind, and he’s been pitching with that injury all year. He’s been taking the mound with a burden on his shoulders, the forces of hope and fear battling in his head, trading blows on every pitch. Fans say he has to work harder, that his easy countenance is him not wanting to improve bad enough and not being coachable. Wrong. The smile, the laughter: that’s a man trying to convince him self that there is no dark issue following him every where he goes. That’s Ricky trying to remind himself his soul is not a prison, and that the poison of failure does not course through his veins. That’s him facing the day as if it started with him looking into the morning mirror and seeing hope instead of doubt.

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I would like to say what a great job you’re doing. You writing, insight, and humor are very much appreciated. I feel for Ricky and hope he turns this around. Whatever may be plaguing him it must be placing a world of hurt on him mentally. I don’t want to say that I hope he can come back to the pitcher we know he can be. Instead, I hope he comes back to the pitcher we know he is. He’s a true leader I that team and of that organization. He’s a guy that I, as a 33 yr old man, look up to. I wish him the best, and no matter what, will always be a fan of Ricky Romero

Great post. I don’t see much evidence of Ricky’s laughter, however. The guy is beating himself up on a regular basis.

I think you or Sam mentioned there was some sabermetric forecast for a bad year for Ricky this year. Maybe you could mention the source for that. I’m trying to rack my brain how such a prediction was made. And I don’t think sabermetrics has advanced enough to look inside a player’s mind. Yet.

Keep up the great work, Dirk. I enjoy your perspective on the game.

DillonJuly 27, 2012 at 11:16 am

I’m sure it wouldn’t have been Sam. He thinks WAR is spelled WOR and while he tries hard, I don’t think he’s all that up on his sabremetrics. And I don’t think it so much predicted a bad year per se. Certainly not this bad. But yeah there were some sabremetric indicators that Ricky was pitching a bit above his true talent levels.

Basically the indicators that Ricky was due to regress a bit were his lower than league average BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) which basically indicates that guys were hitting balls right at fielders, or that the D was always picking him up with great plays. He also had a higher than league average strand rate, which tends to indicate that he was getting a bit lucky with WHEN people got their hits against him. The TV numbers of wins and ERA don’t really reveal these kinds of trends. Don’t even get me started on pitcher wins…

On that note, I would like to commend Dirk for being one of the best baseball analyst Sportsnet has ever had. He really strikes the balance between being accessible to casual fans, but introducing some of the higher level sabremetric analysis without alienating anyone. Very thoughtful with his insight and perspectives too.

Chris HJuly 28, 2012 at 4:10 pm

Thanks, Dillon. Much appreciated. While I can’t recall the exact source of the Romero prediction, I think the prediction called for an ERA over 5 or something like that. Pretty uncanny.

Thanks for your insight Dirk – I hope you are with us for many years here in Toronto. I for one can’t bare to see Ricky’s pain in these post-game scrums any longer and hope it turns around soon. I wonder if you can comment in future posts about the numerous home grown top-talents that seem to flame out early (Rios, Hill, Lind, Cecil, now Ricky just off the top of my head). Is it as simple as these players not enjoying playing in Toronto?

You do have a refreshing writing style and please don’t be reticent about your feelings about bloggers and let us have it. We can take it. For every loud-mouth imbecile who thinks they know what is going on and complains about the stupidest stuff , there are ten level headed fans who are “read only” participants who would applaud your honesty. Andrew has no problem doing it over at DJF and it hasn’t hurt his readership. I’m sure it can be disheartening to find out that there are so many people that don’t have a clue. I think they are just weekend warriors that just figure out enough so they don’t sound too stupid talking about the Jays by the water cooler.

Beyond agreeing with what has been said above, I want to thank you, personally, for writing about sports in such a way that it helps me to grow, spiritually, as a human. In your books, in your blogging and now on the show, you are showing the connections between what one expects and the challenge of living with what happens … they always differ. I once asked a mentor if a loser can become a winner. He replied, “No, only winners can do that” You are trying to show us, the difference that makes a difference in how to live, work and play. Thank you.